


she’s a star, a four-leaf clover, but i won’t press my luck

by bugabisous (mariafernanda)



Series: this love is a tangled web [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Handwaving, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Kwami Swap, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Well not really, dragon!Adrien, pretend hawkmoth is always as dumb as he was during gigantitan, sit back and enjoy the shenanigans i beg, snake!marinette, they're still ladybug and chat noir but also
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22690297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariafernanda/pseuds/bugabisous
Summary: When Ladybug and Chat Noir decided that they should switch things around with their temporary miraculous holders in order to throw Hawkmoth off, they couldn't have predicted the tangled web they would weave.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: this love is a tangled web [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634344
Comments: 76
Kudos: 379





	1. hook, line, and sinker

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a song by a song called Your man by Down with webster.
> 
> Look, I have no explanation for this. I just wanted to write them having that sweet snekmouse dynamic (aka: they both know each other's identity but don't know the other knows) and it got away from me quite a bit (or a lot, considering it was meant to be less than 1500 words and it's currently at more than 5k).
> 
> No beta, so all mistakes are my own and there was no one to stop me from writing nonsense. Just how I like it.

Months later, the ripples of Miracle Queen’s akumatization were still causing waves for Ladybug and Chat Noir. They couldn’t give the same miraculous to the same heroes since Hawkmoth knew their identities, but they decided that switching them around would be good enough if the need arose.

Ever since Ladybug had become the Guardian, she had started asking Chat Noir’s opinion about how to best switch the heroes around so it wasn’t obvious but they were still good matches for their particular power. Together, they decided that Nino would become the wielder of the Fox miraculous since he was very laid back and had a creative mind, and that Alya would be a great Bee superhero, considering her fierce demeanor – and that, perhaps, a more heads on miraculous would be an even better fit for her than her previous one.

There was a huge problem, though, for both of them. Chat Noir kept suggesting Marinette return as Multimouse, since she hadn’t been revealed during the Miracle Queen debacle, and he couldn’t understand why Ladybug was so adamantly against it. Marinette was having a hard time coming up with a way to deny him, considering he did have a point in saying that the identity issue was no longer a factor for her civilian self, since now Chat Noir knew the identities of all miraculous holders except for Ladybug herself.

“She was great against Kwamibuster, my lady,” he said, “and no one except us knows who she is. It’s perfect!”

“I don’t think I want to use the mouse miraculous, Chat. It was a great fit for that akuma, but I would only give it out under very specific circumstances,” she replied, trying hopelessly to get him to drop the subject. The minute they had agreed to give Kagami the turtle miraculous, in order to make the best of her quick reflexes, Chat started to campaign for Multimouse’s return as if his life depended on it. “Let’s just drop the subject of Multimouse _for now_ ,” she added, hoping to redirect the conversation away from her civilian identity, “it’s more important to find a suitable wielder for the snake miraculous, that one is way more likely to be needed.”

She quickly realized her mistake when Chat’s eyes light up, and she nearly decided to abandon the rooftop altogether just so she didn’t have to acknowledge the words she just _knew_ were about to come out of his mouth.

He was waving his arms around, a wide smile painted on his lips, “Marinette would be perfect for that one!”

“Why are you so insistent on her being part of the team?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Why are you so against the idea?” he quickly fired back, his mouth twisted in a pout. He looked genuinely offended on Marinette’s behalf, which would be flattering if it wasn’t so damn inconvenient.

“I’m not, I promise. I just don’t get why you keep asking to give her a miraculous,” she shrugged and started playing with her hands, not quite looking at him.

“Marinette’s awesome. She’s very intelligent and a quick thinker, she has already _proven_ that, and she has a sharp mind for strategy. What else would we need for the snake miraculous? She would be a perfect fit for it, even more than for the mouse miraculous.”

She couldn’t exactly disagree. Marinette wasn’t dumb, she knew very well that she could make the snake miraculous work and protesting the idea too much could start to look suspicious. In fact, she was sure that Chat was already tickled with her for putting this much of a fight for no reason he could see.

“I guess you’re right,” she conceded. “But she’s quite clumsy, from what I’ve seen, isn’t she?”

“Viperion spent half the battle on top of the Eiffel tower trying to figure out the best strategy. It’s not exactly a close contact power, we could keep her at a distance where she could see the entire scene, my lady.”

Of course Chat Noir would choose this to be the hill he would die on, and of course he would sound completely reasonable and give her no room to protest without looking as if she was hiding something – because she was.

“Fine, we can give her the miraculous,” she sighed. Chat Noir’s answering smile was wide and full of teeth, his eyes shimmery with happiness in a way that made her chest feel warm and tingly.

“Now all we need is a good wielder for the dragon miraculous and we’ll be set.”

“Kagami was perfect for that one, what with her fencing skills and quick reflexes,” she put her head on Chat’s shoulder, closing her eyes as she suppressed a yawn, “I don’t think Luka would suit that particular miraculous, he’s not aggressive enough for it, and the other person that comes to mind is not really an option.”

She could feel Chat’s eyes on her, even though her eyes were shut, “Why? Who were you thinking?” he asked, curious.

“Adrien Agreste.”

She felt Chat tense a bit before he quickly relaxed and hummed noncommittally, moving to wrap his arm around her shoulder to help her cuddle closer to him.

“What’s wrong with the kid? Too much of a scaredy-cat?” he teased, making her frown a bit. It was the usual brand of teasing Chat Noir gave akumas, and it felt odd in the context they were currently in, but she was too tired to think much of it.

“Not at all. I believe he’d do well, but, uh,” she hesitated, and slowly drew away from Chat’s shoulder to look him in the eyes, “remember Desperada?” she winced when he did, but he quickly schooled his expression for a more neutral one and nodded, “I, uh, chose him to be the wielder of snake miraculous first and, since you weren’t there, it didn’t go well. I think he won’t accept my offer to give him another one, he had a pretty rough time, and he’s very busy, so, wouldn’t want to pile up on that, you know?”

“Wait, so you think he’s a good fit, you just doubt that he’d accept?”

“Yeah, or that he’d say yes out of obligation since he’s very kind and caring.”

“How about I ask him? I don’t think he’d have trouble telling _me_ no if I asked him to do something he didn’t want to do,” his mouth curved in a wry smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No one could say no to you, my lady, that’s just a fact. You’d flash those blue eyes at him and he’d propose on the spot,” he joked, and was surprised to see her blush deeply.

“Don’t be silly, kitty,” she pushed him away by the shoulder, “but yes, I believe you giving him the miraculous would be a good idea. How about we meet here tomorrow, at this same time, and I’ll give you the dragon and the fox for you to drop them off?”

“Oh no, no way,” he said, shaking his head vigorously in spite of the smile adorning his face, “there’s just no way that I will allow you to take away my chance to give Marinette her miraculous, my lady.”

He was pouting, the ridiculous cat was _pouting_ , like a little child. She huffed, trying to look annoyed and not as charmed as she actually felt, but she suspected that her eyes were twinkling with mirth over his attitude. She stood up, and he followed her lead without changing expressions, staring her down with playful ferocity. “Fine, Chat, as you wish.”

“See? I knew I could count on you to see sense, my lady.”

And with a grin and a bow, he parted ways from her.

.

.

Chat Noir landed on her balcony without making a sound. Had she not been expecting him, she wouldn’t have noticed when he got there. She heard him walk towards the skylight and knock lightly, whistling softly under his breath.

She opened the latch and smiled at him, unable to stop herself from doing so as her eyes landed on his face – which was sporting a joyful grin. His hands were behind his back and he bowed at her in greeting, in his usual show of over the top antics.

“Hello there, princess,” he said, “I come bearing gifts.”

“Oh, is that so?” she teased, “Is it a leaf? That’s fine, I’ll be okay as long as it isn’t some kind of dead animal. I know how stray cats can be.”

“Have much experience handling strays?” he waggled his eyebrows outrageously, which prompted a soft chuckle from her, before he let the swagger soften and presented her with a genuine smile. “Actually, I have come not only to give you a gift but to ask you for a favor as well.”

He looked nervous all of sudden, hands still behind his back, his posture going a bit stiff. “It’s totally okay if you don’t want to, okay?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask, you dumb cat,” she said, exasperated, before making grabby hands at him, “give me my present, and if I like it enough I might even give you a macaroon for your trouble.”

That seemed to work, and he relaxed – the smirk back on his lips. “Now there’s more at stake, are you trying to make me nervous?” he winked, but pulled the box from behind his back to show it to her. “I know you’re familiar with these pretty little boxes, but this one is a bit different.”

“Not the mouse then?”

“No, not the mouse. Not that you weren’t an amazing mouse, Marinette. Believe me, I’m an expert in them, obviously, considering,” he gestured at his ears and she rolled her eyes, “but Ladybug and I decided to mix things up a bit.”

He extended his hand towards her, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, this is the miraculous of the snake, which grants the power of the second chance. I know you will use it for the greater good.”

“You’re giving it to me, permanently?” she furrowed her brow, trying to act confused, “I thought you and Ladybug only gave these out when there was an akuma.”

“Things have changed,” he replied, “we can’t afford for Ladybug to go get the miraculous in the middle of battle anymore. It’s too much of a risk. Which is why we’re only giving these out to people we both trust.”

“You trust me?”

“Of course,” he said simply, as if it was obvious, and he shrugged, “there are very few people I would trust more than you and one of them is Ladybug.”

For some reason, the revelation floored her. She had known he had faith in her, considering his passionate rants trying to get her to agree to give her civilian side a miraculous, but it hadn’t clicked until now that this meant he trusted her _this_ much. _Why_ did he? It made no sense, they had barely interacted when she wasn’t wearing her spots, there was no reason for him to place this much trust in her.

“Oh.”

“You didn’t really think I would have handed over my miraculous to you during Kwamibuster that easily if I didn’t have a good feeling about you, did you?” he smiled and she returned the gesture, taking the box from his hand and opening to reveal the familiar bracelet.

She put it on, it turning rose gold on her wrist, and she looked at Chat Noir, deciding to lighten up the mood even more so he didn’t go all shy on her again, “I’m not much for jewelry, but I think it _suits_ me well.”

He threw his head back and laughed, clearly delighted because of the slight pun. He put a hand on her shoulder once he stopped laughing and squeezed softly, “You’ll be great, I _know_ it,” he whispered, looking directly into her eyes. She felt as if the air had been sucked out of her lungs and, to her horror, she blushed a bit and he noticed. He pulled his hand away, as well as his gaze, before clearing his throat – and, if she wasn’t imagining it, he might have been a bit rosier in the cheeks than usual.

He stepped back from her personal space and they both turned to look at Sass, who seemed to be watching the scene intently. Finally, Chat broke the silence, “Uh, his name is Sass. He can explain which words are used to activate the transformation,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I have to go now, Marinette. But I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at 8:00 pm on the roof of the school. Your school, that is.”

“Waiting for me?” she didn't even have to force a look of confusion, as he had genuinely caught her off guard.

“Of course,” he grinned, “Ladybug and I figured that we got to help you get used to this miraculous, and what a better way to do it than during patrol?”

She had never mentioned about patrols with the new heroes during her conversations with him as Ladybug, she knew that, but Marinette wasn’t supposed to know that and, as such, she had no option but to put on her biggest smile and agree.

“I’ll be there!”

.

.

She saw him arrive at their meeting spot at 7:55 pm from her balcony. She quickly transformed and jumped to join him, figuring there was no use making him wait – especially since she was curious as to why he had lied about this being a decision made between him and Ladybug. She landed a few steps from where he was sitting, and he immediately turned around to greet her; his smile was contagious, as per usual, so she grinned back at him before flopping down next to him, in a move both so familiar and so strange, that she felt her universe shift in response – it felt dangerous, to be near him wearing a superhero suit with him having full knowledge of who she was, as if she was playing a game she couldn’t possibly win.

“Hey, you’re early.”

“Only because you are, silly,” she said, and then had to physically fight the urge to boop his nose once she remembered she was there as Marinette and _not_ Ladybug. It felt weird, like trying to walk through gelatin or swim blindfolded, but it was necessary. Now that she was the guardian, it was even more crucial than ever to keep her identity a secret.

“Right,” he chuckled, “for a moment I forgot how close you live.”

She mimicked dusting off her suit, before turning fully to look at him, “So what are we doing and why, exactly, are we here?”

“I just wanted to help you get comfortable with the miraculous and its power. I imagine it would be different from the one you used, and didn’t want to throw you into the unknown right as we fight a nasty akuma, you know?” he flashed a shy smile at her.

“Right,” she sounded a bit disbelieving, “and Ladybug thought this was necessary?” she probed, just to see if he would lie again.

“Uh,” he scratched at his chin, “not really. I mean, this was my idea and I kind of didn’t tell her?”

“Why didn’t you?” she was genuinely curious, sue her. His grin turned even more sheepish.

“I think she wouldn’t have believed I had a legitimate reason,” seeing her confused expression, he clarified, “not that she would think I have an ulterior motive or anything, I know she trusts me, but,” he paused, looking away, “I might have campaigned to get you a miraculous a little too much? And I think she noticed that I consider you a friend, so.”

“You campaigned for me?” she teased, “why? Does Ladybug hate me or something? Did she think I was incompetent?” Maybe it was mean of her, but she couldn’t resist joking around with him just a bit.

“No! Not at all!” he jumped, his arms moving at an incredible pace as he waved them around and shook his head, “She just didn’t want to put the mouse miraculous in circulation. But once she realized how _awesome_ you are, how could she say no?”

The smirk fell from her lips as she gasped softly. _How could he say what he meant so easily?_ He never hesitated in giving genuine compliments to either side of her, or saying what he wanted to say, he was just so _open_ in a way she just couldn’t emulate. “You think I’m awesome?”

“Of course I do,” he whispered in response, “who wouldn’t?”

In a move that was becoming increasingly common, she blushed and looked down when he said that. He sounded so _honest_ , as if he couldn’t imagine anyone believing otherwise, like it was a fact and not just his opinion. It was moments like these when Chat surprised her, making her chest flutter with an emotion she knew very well but didn’t dare mention alongside his name.

“We should, uh, get started,” she said, at last. Her voice sounded small to her ears, and she cleared her throat. “Lead the way, hero.”

He flashed her his trademark smirk and she took a deep breath, feeling relief flood her body. It was easier to deal with Chat as his most obnoxiously cocky self, than with the soft smiles and heartfelt compliments. He grabbed her by the waist and she instinctually knew to put her arms around his neck and hold onto his shoulder so he could vault them away from the school and into the night.


	2. you caught me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir tangling up their web even more, and doing so with a smile.

“Good evening, my lady,” he said, dropping suddenly by her side. She didn’t exactly jump in the air, but she couldn’t deny that he caught her off guard a little bit.

“Hi, Chat,” she turned to smile at him, “how was your weekend?”

“It was great! I had a good couple of days, for a change.”

She decided, upon seeing his wince at realizing what he had left slip out, to ignore that last bit and focus on the good. “I’m glad. May I ask why?”

“Well, you see,” he scratched his neck nervously, “I might have randomly decided to patrol with Marinette in order to help her get used to the miraculous?”

“Oh? You did, didn’t you?” she teased. “Don’t worry, kitty. I already knew.”

“You did?” he asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I went to check on Marinette earlier tonight and she told me about how much she appreciated _our_ idea to patrol,” she glared jokingly at him, “but don’t worry, I didn’t rat you out about us not having agreed on patrols at all.”

He chuckled, “I’m sorry, my lady. Marinette is very nice, so I wanted to help her adapt to the best of my abilities.”

“That’s very nice of you, Chat. I’ll choose to believe you and not think that you did it in some misguided attempt to get some free pastries.”

“I would never!” he brought a hand to his chest and put on an expression of outrage so ridiculous that she had no choice but to laugh out loud about it. He joined her in her laughter, as he often did, and it was several minutes before they stopped giggling.

“I’m sure,” she drawled, “but which pastries did she bring?”

“She brought macaroons to our patrol yesterday,” he admitted under his breath, not looking at her. He looked adorable, in a stupid kind of way that reminded her of pouty kids, and so she couldn’t resist ruffling his hair before standing up.

“C’mon, kitty. We’ve got work to do.”

He stood up and motioned her to go first. But before she took off, she decided that perhaps Chat had had a great idea indeed.

“You know, I think I might do the same, actually,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“I might patrol with some of the newbies,” she shrugged, “I’m thinking I will let Alya and Nino patrol together from the get-go since they’re our most experienced wielders – and Alya can help Nino out since she used to be the wielder of the fox. You can patrol with Marinette every once in a while, we split our time with Kagami, and, huh,” she suddenly trailed off.

“What about the Agreste kid?”

“I can patrol with him if you’d like, that way we’re even,” she feigned nonchalance, but her mind was screaming at her to not act coy and just say she was going to do it.

To her surprise, Chat nodded vigorously. “Sure! You can take Adrien!” he smiled.

“Great!”

Both of them spent patrol too distracted about the future patrols between Ladybug and Adrien to notice that their partner was out of it too.

.

.

While Marinette wasn’t as _focused_ on Adrien and his schedule as she used to be, she knew enough about it to know that he had Thursday evening free as well as the weekend nights that week. Seeing as she had patrol with Chat as Ladybug on Friday, and as Marinette on Saturday, she decided to drop in on Adrien that night instead and hope he wasn’t too tired from his afternoon photoshoot to go on patrol with her.

She landed on the roof of the mansion at 8:00 pm and used her yoyo to slowly descent in front of his window – which was open. She saw him lying in bed playing with his cellphone, talking to himself as he scrolled through what seemed to be Instagram. Not wanting to get carried away staring at him she quickly knocked on his window frame, making him jump a bit and scramble to sit up.

“Ladybug, hey!” he said as he stood up and walked to the window. “What are you doing here? Not that it isn’t nice to see you, of course.”

She took the hand he was offering her, before stepping into the room. He led her to the couch and motioned her to sit down, so she did, hastily dropping his hand once she realized she was still holding it and he quickly joined her on the sofa.

“So, did you need me for anything? Is there an akuma?”

“No, sorry, nothing like that,” she reassured him, smiling at him. “I just, huh, Chat Noir told me he dropped off a new miraculous for you last week and we decided it’d be a good idea to help you guys settle in by patrolling with you for a few weeks, let you get the rhythm down to pat and all.”

“Sounds smart, I bet you came up with the idea,” he said, a weird twinkle in his eye. She blushed, but decided it wasn’t fair to take the credit where it wasn’t due.

“Actually, it was Chat’s idea,” she admitted. His gaze turned softer, somehow, which confused her, but she wasn’t about to question the reasons why Adrien was smiling at her in such a warm way.

“So, I’m guessing I’m patrolling with you, then.”

“Yeah. If you don’t mind, of course, I know your life can be very busy,” she froze, “I mean, I don’t _know,_ but I can imagine, I guess.”

“It is quite busy, yes,” he nodded and directed the full force of his smiling eyes at her, “but I don’t mind. I think the fresh air might be good for me, actually, and I could always use the company.”

There was something familiar in those eyes, though she couldn’t figure out what it was exactly, that spoke to her about Adrien being far lonelier than she had previously realized. Without thinking, she brought her hand to clutch at his and squeezed softly before letting go; his deep eyes seemed to be burning paths on her face as he looked at her, but she forced herself not to blush despite her heart spluttering in her ribcage.

“So, how about we go, then?” she smiled, her voice coming out a little shaky. She felt as if some invisible force was clutching at her throat, no matter how much she swallowed to try to get rid of the feeling.

“Lead the way,” he said after standing up and something seemed to echo inside her head at those words, but she shook her head and stood up, “you’re the expert here, after all.”

“You should transform first.”

Adrien called out his transformation as she walked towards the window, she saw the telltale flash of red light from the corner of her eye as she climbed out of his room and threw her yoyo up so she could get to the roof. Once in the roof, she saw Adrien arrive – his suit was different from Ruyko’s she noticed, in that it had black boots that were similar to Chat Noir’s, with a hood like Carapace’s suit covering most of his blonde hair except for his fringe, and the pattern of the black detailing was a bit more balanced, reminiscent of her own transformation as Dragonbug.

“Are you sure they won’t notice you’re gone?” she asked, suddenly concern that, given how strict Adrien’s father was, she would get him in trouble.

“Don’t worry, Ladybug, no one will check on me,” he shrugged, “they never do unless I’m making too much noise after 10:00 pm, which clearly won’t happen. They’ll just assume I’m asleep.”

She pushed down the worry that had settled in her stomach at the realization that, even though they insisted on keeping Adrien busy or locked up, they paid him even less attention than she had thought. It explained a lot about his enthusiasm to go to school, and her heart hurt for him in a way that had nothing to do with her longing to be with him and everything to do with her desire to help him be happy.

She was glad to have given him a miraculous because, even though it was a huge responsibility, she now knew that it might help him find moments to leave the stifling mansion if he ever wanted to – even if he couldn’t be seen outside as Adrien. With that knowledge, she finally got the strength to smile at him and tell him that they could start patrolling and she felt the candor of his answering grin down to the tips of her toes.

.

.

Even though her schedule was packed with three different sets of patrols – and four, every second week – Marinette didn’t feel tired at all.

Kagami was her friend and she enjoyed getting to know her better during patrols, even if she couldn’t return the favor of sharing any personal information with her; it also made her happy to see her jump across rooftops once she realized that Kagami and Adrien had the same kind of astringent household to come back to and they both needed the freedom these moments could give them. She was adapting pretty well to the turtle miraculous and seemed to enjoy patrolling with both her and Chat equally, which made Marinette very confident they had made the right choice in giving her such a vital miraculous.

Her patrols with Chat Noir as Ladybug were filled with the same kind of camaraderie as always, with the inside jokes and the silent communication, and the unspoken agreement of when to split up to cover more ground and when it was time to stick together and close to each other. In many ways, those were her favorite patrols. But she had to admit that she liked seeing him take a leadership position when he patrolled with her as Marinette; it wasn’t a complete transformation, of course, for he always maintained his good humor – even if his flirting was incredibly tame when she wasn’t wearing her spots. She had an easy rapport with Chat in both of her superhero personas, despite the subtle differences ( _or the big ones, like him being in love with Ladybug_ , her mind whispered).

Her patrols with Adrien were both easier than she had predicted and harder than she could have ever imagined. He seemed to handle the patrolling just fine, and he engaged her in conversation in such a natural way that it was as if they had been friends for years now – he joked around with her, sometimes even cracking a pun, and he seemed to listen to everything she said as if she was the professor giving the most important lecture in order to pass the BAC. The issue wasn’t him adapting after his bad experience with the snake miraculous or her stumbling into a word salad when talking to him, as she had feared; the problem, the thing that was making these patrols incredibly difficult, was that in getting to know him better she just kept falling harder for him.

And, sometimes, it seemed as if he liked her too – which was a dangerous thing to think about, of course, because she didn’t see a way that they could possibly work if they tried dating as Adrien and Ladybug. She wasn’t blind, she noticed the way he seemed to blush timidly when she complimented him, or the eerily familiar yet exhilarating way he looked at her sometimes, and she saw herself fall deeper into the pit of her love for him, with no hopes of ever escaping – not that she wanted to, granted.

It had been nearly two months of patrolling this way when Tikki suggested that she should start thinking about stopping the patrols between Adrien and Ladybug. He had clearly adapted to the miraculous, so there was no reason why the patrols should continue, and the same applied to Marinette and Chat Noir. Despite knowing that Tikki was right, she was reluctant to bring it up with Chat; it wasn’t just because of Adrien, but also because of the side of her partner that she could see during his time with who he knew was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. However, she knew she had to be responsible and she brought it up during her next patrol with Chat.

“I think this week should be my last patrol with Adrien,” she said. Chat froze, a frown marring his expression.

“What? Why? Did he do anything to upset you?” he asked, frantic. She waved her hand to try to calm him down.

“No! Not at all. He’s been a perfect patrol partner,” she caught herself before she started gushing, “but he’s ready. The same happens with Marinette and Kagami, they have adapted well.”

“I guess you’re right,” he pouted. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Why so sad, kitty? You’ll get more rest now that you don’t have to patrol with them.”

“I don’t know, I enjoyed patrolling with them, they’re very nice and you know me, I’m always looking for an excuse to jump around rooftops.”

“That’s true,” she conceded, “Alya and Nino have told me that you sometimes drop on them during their patrols, you silly third wheeler.”

“I’m used to it,” he shrugged, but he quickly tensed when he caught sight of her wide-eyed stare, “I mean, not with them, _of course_. Just, in general. My best friend in my civilian life is also happily paired up, so I’m always around one couple or the other. Plus, Alya and Nino are pretty professional while in costume.”

“I know,” she grinned, “otherwise I wouldn’t have paired them up.”

“So, I think that we should pair Adrien and Marinette for this,” Chat Noir said suddenly, there was something odd about his tone but she didn’t stop to analyze it.

“Hmm? Why do you think that?” she asked, heart beating fast.

“They’re friends, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but they’re also friends with Kagami, who we also need to pair up.”

“I was thinking we could keep up with our current arrangement with her. I feel the snake and dragon miraculous pair up very well together,” he smiled, “as you might remember.”

 _Right, during Miracle Queen,_ she thought, _Chat is just being practical._

“You’re right.”

“Great!” he grinned. “I’ll let Marinette know that she’ll have a new patrol partner next week, and you should do the same with Adrien. We’ll confirm which days they have free and arrange the rendezvous point, sounds good?”

“It does, Chat,” she squeezed his shoulder, “thank you so much for helping me out with all of this.”

“Of course, my lady. We _are_ a team, aren’t we?”

“Always.”

.

.

Her last patrol with Chat Noir, while wearing the snake miraculous, came after her last patrol with Adrien as Ladybug. She decided to bring some cupcakes to share at the end, even if she had to pretend to be oblivious to the fact that they wouldn’t be patrolling anymore. When she got to their meeting point, Chat was already waiting for her – he often arrived before her, no matter the suit she was wearing. He was humming under his breath, the same song that chilled her blood each time, but he was smiling softly as he twirled his baton between his fingers.

He turned to her the moment her feet touched the roof. “Hey, snake girl,” he grinned.

“I told you to stop calling me that, Chat Noir.”

“Well, if you won’t allow me to call you the superhero name I chose for you, and you haven’t come up with one yourself,” he shrugged, “then I have no other option.”

“I won’t be calling myself that, no way,” she said, but if she was honest she had quite enjoyed the pun and she felt it fit her well enough – it was just a matter of her not wanting to admit it to Chat and give him the satisfaction.

“Fine,” he raised his hands in surrender, “it’s a lady’s prerogative to say no.”

She snorted, “I can’t believe how ridiculous you are.”

She successfully managed to not boop his nose or flick his bell during their patrol together, and she didn’t call him “kitty” at all, nor did she use his shoulders as support to gain momentum before taking a leap. However, despite all the barriers she had to put between them to avoid giving herself away, patrolling with him still felt as easy as breathing.

When it was time to part ways, he seemed a bit wistful but his smile was still as brilliant as it always was. She was surprised when he brought her in for a hug, whispering softly against her ear, “I knew you could do it,” before he squeezed her tightly for a second and let her go, walking away.

“Thanks, Chat,” she replied, “I like that you have faith in me.”

He gave her a salute and a grin, and she couldn’t help but smile back and give him a wave of her own.

“See you around,” his grin turned wicked, “ _Viperactive._ ”

She rolled her eyes at him, but her smile didn’t lose any of its intensity. She really was going to miss these moments.

.

.

.

She made sure at arrive at Notre Dame, which had been agreed on by her and Chat Noir for being a fairly neutral place while not being as crowded as the Eiffel Tower or as high as the top of the Montparnasse Tower, right on time – not a second earlier or later than 8:30 pm – to avoid giving herself enough time to catastrophize while waiting for Adrien, but also not wanting to keep him waiting.

To her surprise he was already sitting on the roof, his fingers drumming against his thigh as if playing an invisible piano, and he was swinging his feet over the edge as he hummed softly. In a move that felt oddly familiar, he turned to smile at her when she landed.

“Hey there,” he said, standing up and offering his hand. She closed her hand around his in order to shake it, but he surprised her by bringing it to his lips and dropping a quick kiss to the back of her hand – she felt heat pool in her cheeks and her breath stuttered as she gasped quietly. “What’s your name?”

Inexplicably, she couldn’t help but say, “Viperactive.”

The blinding smile he gave in return made all her nerve endings tingle and a shot of pure energy thrum through her blood. Twenty seconds in and she was already hooked in a way she had never been before.

“Pleased to meet you,” he let go of her hand. “I must say, knowing that you chose that name makes me feel better about the one I picked,” his lips curved in a smile that was half self-deprecating and half amused.

“Oh? What _is_ your name, then?”

“Shenron.”

She couldn’t help it, she threw her head back in a laugh. “Oh my god, you’re a dork,” she managed to say between her giggles; she was too busy laughing to worry about offending him – which would have been pointless considering he was laughing alongside her.

“That is true,” he admitted, “but I just couldn’t resist.”

Watching his eyes twinkle in the moonlight, with his fringe of golden hair framed by a red hood and his lips forming a small grin, she couldn’t help but relate, for she couldn’t resist falling harder for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's superhero name was blatantly lifted from guardiankarenterrier's tag in [this post](https://guardiankarenterrier.tumblr.com/post/190070824753/k-or-l-and-snakemarinette-and-dragonadrien). In my defense, once it was pointed out to me, I just couldn't resist.
> 
> Adrien's superhero name is a DBZ reference. Again, once it was suggested to me... how could I resist?
> 
> This concludes this story. Or at least the introductory arc. I plan on posting ficlets set in this universe, with snapshots that can be any side of the love square (or whatever shape it is now) as they navigate the ups and downs of the secret identity shenanigans. 
> 
> I don't know when I'll be back with more, but I have been dying to play with this universe, so. (Also, this entire fic was born out of my need to have adrienette patrolling, knowing each other's identities but not knowing the other knows theirs, so).


End file.
